Mobile Web Design Best Practices (Mobify via
TechVibes)
From smartphones to desktop computers, people are using more
devices more often to access the web. The shift to mobile web
browsing has happened rapidly, and comScore
predicts that mobile web users will surpass fixed web users by
2014. Mobify, an open mobile platform, has been been
wrestling with how to best design adaptive sites for the mobile
web since 2007 and they're quite good at it. They have built the
platform that powers some of the world’s most popular adaptive
websites: Starbucks,
Bosch, Beyond the Rack, Threadless,
among others. They've compiled their experiences into a new eBook
which you can download here, entitled 50 Ways To Please Your Customers: A
Guide To Mobile Web Design Best Practices. In parallel
with the eBook, the Vancouver startup rolled out a dedicated site
called Now Make It
Mobile which serves up the tips one at a time.

ComScore Trying To Rank Web, Mobile And App Eyeballs For First
Time (All Things Digital)
Web publishers are going to start getting credit for mobile
eyeballs, via a new scoring system from comScore. How much that
credit is worth is an open and important question because right
now most of them have to offer advertisers a very steep discount
on mobile eyeballs; as much as 80% off of desktop rates.
Addressing that problem will take some time, but at the very
least this is an important first step. And for some sites and
services that exist predominantly on mobile sites, the new
ratings are going to be a big help to justify their pitch. It’s
also a nice reality check for the many app start-ups that are
happy to tell you how many downloads they have, but don’t want to
talk about how many people use them. On to the new rankings,
which comScore is calling its Multi
Platform listings. They attempt to track visitors to
web sites, mobile sites and mobile apps, and then combine those
tallies without duplicating visits, for a true sense of a
publisher’s monthly traffic.

Microsoft Faces ‘Year of Reckoning’ In Mobile
Software (IDC via The
New York Times)
In its top 10
predictions for 2013, IDC declares that next year will be
high noon for Microsoft‘s mobile software. It makes that
prediction based on data and a point of view. A crucial
constituency, IDC says, is developer support for a company’s
technology. "Mobile platforms that fail to crack the 50 percent
barrier of developers who are 'very interested' in developing
apps for them," the IDC report states, "will be on a gradual
track to demise." So IDC declares next year will be "a year of
reckoning in mobile software." So what platforms die? Microsoft
has its work cut out for it. Frank Gens, IDC’s chief analyst,
noted that with Microsoft’s new Surface tablet, the company had
an impressive piece of hardware to show off its tablet software.
And its partnership with Nokia means
Microsoft has a committed ally in the smartphone market. "Now the
pieces are together," Mr. Gens said. "But will the developers
come?" They'd better hope so.

Mobile-Friendly Websites: Why And How For Your Small Business
(435 Digital)
More and more, people are out and about, and they pull out their
web-enabled phones and search. One in three mobile searches have
local intent, and 59% of consumers visit a local store after
searching for it on the mobile web. When those consumers are
searching, do they find you? Are you there to be found? When
someone searches for your business or type of business, it is
critical to have a mobile-friendly website that makes your
information easy to access and your phone an easy touch to call.
Creating a mobile-friendly site can seem overwhelming, of course.
You have a business you know and love, and it needs your
attention. So how can you go about getting an effective web
presence while maintaining focus on the core of what you do? Here
are five steps to help drive more customers to your business:

Identify the goal

Create a solution

Design and write

Develop the site

Launch your site

Always remember your customers. They want to find you and to
quickly understand what you offer. You can already provide
excellent customer service just by having a mobile-friendly
website that is there for people at the moment they need it.

A Simple Guide To Mobile App Marketing (Marketing
Land)
Is it even possible to get your app noticed any more? The mobile
app industry is booming, and since the one-million-app mark was
reached in late 2011, the competition to get your app noticed in
the marketplace is fierce. However, there is space for your app,
and, if marketed correctly, your app can and will succeed.
Marketing planning should start at the very beginning of app
development, well before it is launched. There are a number of
factors that you must consider in the early stages of your app
development, including:

Branding

Keywords

Competition

Once you have launched your app, the second stage of mobile app
marketing takes over; connect to an apps store analytic program
to enable you to view the progress of your app.

How Content Is Being Consumed On Mobile Devices (BI
Intelligence)
The growth of smartphones and tablets has boosted content
consumption dramatically. Importantly, mobile media consumption
appears to be an additive activity. Consumers access more media
than they otherwise would. Here's a breakdown of how mobile is
impacting content consumption:

Tablets have fueled the continued rise of eBooks

One of the primary attractions of smartphones is their dual
capacity as MP3 players

News consumption is growing enormously

And mobile has helped drive an enormous amount of video
consumption

In a
special report from BI Intelligence, we analyze how
users are consuming content on their mobile devices, and take a
look at the most popular mobile activities, how people use their
phones to shop, and the growth of the mobile web.